Double drug bust nets 40 arrests

Two separate drug trafficking rings in Western New York were dealt major blows Tuesday when sealed indictments were opened and 40 people were arrested.

Investigators seized more than $100,000 worth of cocaine, plus large quantities of prescription pills and cash.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says in one of the operations, code named Operation Lockport, drugs were sold on the Tonawanda Indian Reservation and that one of the dealers was a nurse.

The other operation was called TGIF because one of the defendants targeted in the probe was a chef at the TGIF restaurant at Main and Chippewa streets in downtown Buffalo.

"With these 40 drug dealers off the streets, those streets in Niagara, Genesee and Erie counties are safer. Our children are safer. Our communities are safer. We're sending a clear message that in the State of New York, drug dealers will be prosecuted, pursued, and apprehended," Schneiderman said.

Schneiderman said it was a serious drug dealing operation which also included bi-monthly cock fights with gambling.

New York State Police Superintendent Joseph D'Amico cited the combined efforts of law enforcement agencies for the successful conclusion of the drug investigation, ranging from the suppliers who brought in drugs from Florida to street dealers in Niagara Falls, the Tonawanda Indian Reservation, and elsewhere in the region.

D'Amico says investigators saw the proliferation of diverted prescription drugs being sold on the streets alongside the more traditional illegal substances like cocaine.

"One of the major subjects in this case...employed her own adult kids as sellers. She actually had the nerve to bring her four young grandchildren with her as she did drug deals, children ranging in age from 1 to 12," D'Amico said.

D'Amico noted the hundreds of hours of covert surveillance performed by law enforcement agents from federal, state, and local police agencies to crack the case.